Fried Sage and Gruyere Deep Dish Quiche

...with Ham and Caramelized Onions

The fried sage and Gruyere get top billing in the name simply because they were the inspiration for this quiche...originally from an omelette recipe (FoodNetwork?) that included them in combination. The ham and onion got in on this one -- in smaller amounts -- simply because I had half an onion and the end of a ham to use up!

Ingredients:
6 eggs 
½ C sour cream 
½ C half and half (or heavy cream) 
½ tsp salt 
¼ tsp pepper
pinch each of nutmeg and cayenne pepper
6 oz gruyere, shredded 
¼ C fried sage leaves
olive oil
4 oz ham, small diced
½ onion, thinly sliced
1  9" deep dish pie crust

Directions :
Preheat oven to 350°.

Line a 9" pie pan/dish with crust. Spread diced ham over bottom. Set aside.

Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat; add sage leaves. Fry the sage leaves, turning as they just begin to brown. They should be just crisping. Remove from heat and drain leaves on paper towel. I started with 8 or 9 fairly large sage leaves which gave me about a ¼ cup of crumbled leaves to add to the quiche.

Return sauté pan to medium-high heat, adding another tablespoon of olive oil. Add thinly sliced onion to pan; saute 10-12 minutes until well caramelized. Spread evenly over ham in pie dish.

 Whisk together eggs, half and half, sour cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Stir in 4 oz of the shredded Gruyere and crumbled sage leaves. Pour egg mixture over ham and onion in pie crust.

Bake 40-45 minutes or until eggs are slightly browned on top and firm in the middle.